The Lost Queen
by Kindare
When the castle above the village had been empty for a long time it became a mysterious place. In the eyes of the curious it seemed to grow larger as the years passed by and all of the children were sure that its locked doors and closed up windows kept a secret. The legends of the lost queen were whispered from child to child among those who were drawn up the winding slope to the castle doors. Restless and unable to sleep, many children abandoned their beds and were led there by the light of the moon.
Some believed that the earth had opened up and she was led down to rule a land below our own. Others said that the queen was sent into hiding when dragons were seen in the country but that no one had ever gone to tell her when the danger was past and she remained in hiding to this very day. Some were sure she was held captive by a king from over the sea. All agreed that the great queen had been known far and wide and loved by all.
Now she was lost to them.
In time the whispered tales reached the ears of Anwen. More daring than most, Anwen made a vow that night.
"How could we lose what was so precious to us all?" she wondered. "If there is a way, I will find the lost queen and bring her back to this castle."
No time was lost as Anwen set out on her journey. She traveled east in the light of an early dawn. The legends told her that the lost queen was young and fair with the dazzling beauty of a spring flower. In the east she came upon a land that was beautiful and green.
After long searching Anwen found one who's beauty was beyond all others. The maiden was singing as she gathered flowers in a meadow. Her voice was as soft as the wind, and her eyes shone like the sunrise.
"I am searching for the lost queen. One who is as young and beautiful as you are." Anwen said.
The fair maiden smiled, "I seem beautiful to you because I am surrounded by the beauty of nature. We know the one you seek here in the eastern lands, " she said. "It was the queen who taught us long ago to care for every flower and vine and newly grown leaf. We still tend the gardens that once she planted all over this valley. I can not tell you where to find her, but I do know that in time she became a mother."
Anwen thanked the beautiful maiden and was off again. Traveling this time to the south, Anwen searched for the lost queen. Her search was long in the heat of summer days until Anwen came to the walls of great city. Just outside of the gates there was a woman encircled by happy children sitting at her feet. Anwen saw how the woman's sweet laugh and smile brought out the best in each child.
"I am searching for the lost queen, " Anwen said. "One who is as great a mother as you."
"I am a mother to be sure, though these children are not my own" said the mother. “We know the one you seek here in the southern lands. It was the queen who taught us long ago to love all children as if they were our own, for she was like a mother to us all. I can not tell you where to find her, but I do know that in time the queen became a wise old woman."
Winds that blew cold in the night pushed Anwen on to the west. The oldest and wisest of women lived there on an island in the middle of a lake. When times were bad or when the need was great, villagers for miles around sought her wisdom.
The old woman welcomed Anwen inside. Sitting by a warm hearth, Anwen explained the reason she had come.
"Even here across the waters we know of the one you seek, " said the crone. "She is the keeper of the deepest mysteries and the greatest truths. It was she who taught me to heal sick children and tend to tired crops."
"You are the wisest woman in these lands, " Anwen said. "Surely you can tell me where to find her."
"I can not tell you where to find her, but I do know that when your journey has come full circle, it is she who will find you."
Seeing Anwen's disappointment she continued, "On a moonless night such as this it is hard to believe that the light will return, but it will. At first light you too must return. Your journey spirals back to where it began."
Anwen traveled quickly through the day. By nightfall she could see the castle in the distance. She climbed to the top of a small hill to get a better view, and there on the mound she sat for a while to rest.
As the first light of the moon showed itself in the sky, Anwen fell into the kind of dream that only weary travelers and pilgrims are given. It is a special kind of waking dream, and in it, Anwen finally found the one she sought.
"In truth you have found me three times over, the lost queen seemed to say, " for I may appear to have as many faces as the moon. You will understand when you find me in the face that you know best."
Anwen opened her eyes. Remembering a spring nearby she ran through darkness and brambles to a dimly reflecting pool. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Anwen saw herself as she knelt and peered out over the edge of the water. Because it had been so long since she had seen her own face, she had no expectation of what she would find, and therefore saw more truly the face reflecting back at her.
"Is this really the face I know best?" she thought, for she somehow looked different. She had been touched by beauty, and it had changed her. She had been touched by love, and it had changed her. She had been touched by wisdom, and it had changed her.
This face was not one of a young girl seeking adventure. It was the face of a woman who had found her path, and of one who had learned what was worth seeking.
Anwen did understand. "It's not important that the lost queen returns, " she thought, "but only that we remember her. As long as we remember the things she has to teach us, she is never really lost to us."
Anwen was not the first or the last to search for the lost queen.
But she did find her, and it changed her forever.
Kindare, Copyright 2007. Reprinted with permission.
